Ngaoara Fellowship
The Ngaoara Fellowship is an opportunity for an emerging First Nations artist to hold a solo exhibition at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery alongside an established First Nations artist and mentor. In 2025 Nicole Smede was the winner of the Ngaoara Fellowship mentored by Karla Dickens. Applications for 2026 Ngaoara Fellowship will open 15 September 2025.
Bagandha yanggamba-ngga, Nicole Smede, Shoalhaven Regional Gallery 2025
Video filmed by Tad Souden for Shoalhaven Regional Gallery 2025.
First Nations Fellowship 2025
In 2025 Shoalhaven Regional Gallery held the inaugural First Nations Fellowship, a funded exhibition and mentorship opportunity with Karla Dickens to coincide with her exhibition Resist the System. Nicole Smede won with her project, Bagandha yanggamba-ngga - ‘Country sings in me’, a nine-channel video and sound installation that speaks to the origins of traditional languages and the reciprocal exchange between Country, human and non-human kin. Nicole Smede is a multi-disciplinary artist of Warrimay, Irish and English heritage, living and creating on Wadi Wadi Dharawal Country. A trained vocalist, Nicole's voice has been heard on Triple J, globally on award-winning film scores, and graced the stages of City Retail Hall, Parliament House, MONA FOMA festival, galleries and venues across Australia. Bagandha yanggamba-ngga - ‘Country sings in me’ is Nicole's first multi-channel video installation.
In 2026 this opportunity will run again relaunched under the new name the Ngaoara Fellowship.
Ngaoara Fellowship 2026
The Ngaoara Fellowship is an exhibition and mentoring opportunity for an emerging First Nations artist. For this opportunity an emerging artist is defined as an artist in the first ten years of their practice, or someone with an established practice moving into a new artistic medium. The successful applicant will be provided with an artist fee, a funded solo exhibition at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery and a mentoring opportunity with Aunty Julie Freeman.
Applications for the 2026 Ngaoara Fellowship open 15 September. Please check back later for more information.